State Budget: Job Creation Priority # 1

Member Group : PA Chamber of Business and Industry

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, Feb. 8, 2010

2010-11 state budget: job creation should be priority No. 1

HARRISBURG, PA – In advance of Gov. Ed Rendell’s budget address on Tuesday, Feb. 9, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is urging the administration and state lawmakers to make private-sector job creation the top priority in the upcoming state budget debate.

"The private sector has suffered greatly in this recession," said PA Chamber President Floyd Warner.

Since December 2007, more than seven million private sector jobs have disappeared, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Recognizing the fiscal challenges that remain in a still fragile national and state economy, the budget for the upcoming fiscal year must reflect the importance of private-sector job creation to realizing full and lasting recovery," Warner said.

PA Chamber members would like to see the Rendell administration shift its focus from a costly government spending/mandate philosophy to one that embraces reduced government spending, lower tax burdens on job creators and individuals, and policies that enable the private sector to effectively and efficiently operate.

"The business community urges lawmakers to reject proposals that will further harm Pennsylvania’s competitiveness and emphasize reforms that will create an environment that is conducive to job and economic growth," Warner said. "Government can clear the way through commonsense permitting, lawsuit abuse and business tax reform."

With the Commonwealth facing a revenue deficit that currently stands at $347 million, Warner encouraged the administration to also eliminate ineffective and duplicative programs that provide little if any benefit to taxpayers, and identify and improve ineffective processes in other state agencies that could also save taxpayer dollars.

"The business community is anxious to hear the governor’s budget plans," Warner said. "We look forward to working with the Rendell administration and state lawmakers in crafting a budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year that will move Pennsylvania forward in these challenging times."

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Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state’s largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of Business.